DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.7897#0092
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his name. Afterwards, they were removed by Ilus his grandson to Ilium, and
placed in the temple of Minerva in the citadel.
From this statement it appears, that the name of Palladium was not confined
to a single statue; and in fact, Pherecydes (5), an early historian, and whose
authority is of great weight, positively says, that the name was anciently
given to all statues that were not of human workmanship, but believed to have
fallen from heaven.
It is probable then, that the painter has followed a tradition of this kind,
wjjich supposed that besides the Palladium, or statue of Minerva, some other
statue, perhaps one of the Penates, was carried away at the same time by the
two Grecian chiefs.
It should be observed, that the vase was manufactured in Italy, where many
local and peculiar traditions existed. This story must have had some celebrity
in that country, on account of the veneration in which Diomedes and Ulysses
were held. Many cities considered them as their founders (6); some even paid
them divine honors. To this we must add, that several cities, Siris and Hera-
clea in Lucania, and Luceria in Apulia (7), pretended to be in possession of the
miraculous Palladium carried away from Ilium, and of course, they had their
own legends respecting its origin.
The other circumstances expressed in the painting correspond with the re-
ceived version of the story. Minerva, who favoured the bold enterprise, seems
to animate and direct the Grecian chiefs. She is represented Avith a helmet, re-
sembling in its form the Phrygian tiara, probably to indicate a Trojan divinity.
She has a lance and shield, but is without her usual attribute the aegis.
A female figure with a torch, on the opposite side, is probably Theano,
priestess of Minerva. The manner in which Ulysses and Diomedes gained ac-
cess into the city is differently related (8). Some say, that they penetrated by
night through a subterraneous passage and surprized the keepers of the cita-
del : others pretend (9), that sent as ambassadors to Priam, they corrupted the
(5) Antiq. Rom. lib. 1, cap. 68 et 69.
(6) Etymologicon Magnum, v. t.<xDA<$\w.
Tzetz. in Lycophron. vers. 355.
(7) For particulars respecting the various
colonies founded in Italy by Diomedes and
Ulysses, the reader may consult Raoul Ro-
chette,Histoire des Colonies Grecques, torn. 11,
pages 3o3 et 336.
(8) Strabo. lib. m,page 264.
(9) The various opinions relating to the Pal-
ladies, have been collected and ably discus-
sed by the learned Meziriac, Comment, sur
his name. Afterwards, they were removed by Ilus his grandson to Ilium, and
placed in the temple of Minerva in the citadel.
From this statement it appears, that the name of Palladium was not confined
to a single statue; and in fact, Pherecydes (5), an early historian, and whose
authority is of great weight, positively says, that the name was anciently
given to all statues that were not of human workmanship, but believed to have
fallen from heaven.
It is probable then, that the painter has followed a tradition of this kind,
wjjich supposed that besides the Palladium, or statue of Minerva, some other
statue, perhaps one of the Penates, was carried away at the same time by the
two Grecian chiefs.
It should be observed, that the vase was manufactured in Italy, where many
local and peculiar traditions existed. This story must have had some celebrity
in that country, on account of the veneration in which Diomedes and Ulysses
were held. Many cities considered them as their founders (6); some even paid
them divine honors. To this we must add, that several cities, Siris and Hera-
clea in Lucania, and Luceria in Apulia (7), pretended to be in possession of the
miraculous Palladium carried away from Ilium, and of course, they had their
own legends respecting its origin.
The other circumstances expressed in the painting correspond with the re-
ceived version of the story. Minerva, who favoured the bold enterprise, seems
to animate and direct the Grecian chiefs. She is represented Avith a helmet, re-
sembling in its form the Phrygian tiara, probably to indicate a Trojan divinity.
She has a lance and shield, but is without her usual attribute the aegis.
A female figure with a torch, on the opposite side, is probably Theano,
priestess of Minerva. The manner in which Ulysses and Diomedes gained ac-
cess into the city is differently related (8). Some say, that they penetrated by
night through a subterraneous passage and surprized the keepers of the cita-
del : others pretend (9), that sent as ambassadors to Priam, they corrupted the
(5) Antiq. Rom. lib. 1, cap. 68 et 69.
(6) Etymologicon Magnum, v. t.<xDA<$\w.
Tzetz. in Lycophron. vers. 355.
(7) For particulars respecting the various
colonies founded in Italy by Diomedes and
Ulysses, the reader may consult Raoul Ro-
chette,Histoire des Colonies Grecques, torn. 11,
pages 3o3 et 336.
(8) Strabo. lib. m,page 264.
(9) The various opinions relating to the Pal-
ladies, have been collected and ably discus-
sed by the learned Meziriac, Comment, sur